Earn money on the road! Welcome to week four of our ‘Hit the Road Plan’ – we hope you’ve been enjoying all our hints and tips. If you’ve just arrived you can read catch up on how much we spend each week, how we decided on what vehicle to buy for our trip and our inspiration for getting out to travel.
Earn Money on the Road
This week we are sharing our best tips for making money while you travel. We worked and saved up before leaving so we didn’t have to rely on getting jobs too soon. But when opportunities come up to make some extra dollars we jump at the chance, even if it’s just to treat ourselves to a meal out or a special tour. Here are the jobs we’ve had so far in our 9 months on the road.
1. Mystery Shopping
This is a great one that can be done all around Australia – we registered with Creative Activation and basically get paid to shop! We have visited and given our opinions on fast food restaurants, electrical shops, chemists and food stores. When you accept a job you just need to read the brief, complete a visit to their specifications (they will give you certain products to buy or questions to ask) then submit a report. Jobs pay between $15 and $30 plus any money used for product. It’s a great way to earn some extra money on the road and once you’ve done a few it becomes really easy. You don’t need any previous skills or experience to apply – and what is great is that you can search jobs Australia wide and accept them at a time that suits you. You can apply on this link.
Another way to mystery shop on your mobile is with the Field Agent app. Similar to Creative Activation but no application is required – you just download the app and away you go. The app will give you alerts to mystery jobs available near where you are and you just follow the easy instructions to earn. We recently earned $20 for buying our regular beer at the bottle shop – winning!
2. Earn Money on the Road while you Walk
While we’ve been in Sydney for a few months we’ve been delivering marketing materials. We’ve been posting catalogues and flyers around the neighbourhood we’re staying in. It’s great exercise, and gets us out into the fresh air. We often walk the dog anyway – so it made sense for us to do a delivery at the same time and get paid for it. The money isn’t great – but there are often bonuses paid out and it’s an easy job. The weekly pay doesn’t seem a lot – but so far over 2 months we’ve earned an extra $200 to add to the travel fund. They deliver our brochures to where we are staying and we track the delivery with an app – really simple. If you’d like to apply click here.
3. Facebook Jobs
We’ve spotted loads of jobs being posted on Facebook – just get in the right groups and you can find regional or traveller work. You could start with the Jobs for Families Travelling Australia Group who post stuff regularly. We’ve also noticed Outback Jobs and Tourism Australia share a lot of great positions too.
You can also find a lot of temporary and casual jobs on Gumtree – it’s a great way to find places to earn money on the road as well as being great to sell all your stuff before you set off.
4. Use your Skills (but don’t be scared to dumb them down)
Paul is a chef and he’s picked up a few weeks cooking work along the way. I’ve run backpacker hostels for years and found some part time work on a hostel reception. We’re using the skills that we’ve worked in for years but we’ve both stepped down a few levels – and it’s so much fun! Getting away from a high level or stressful job may have been one of the motivating reasons for you to hit the road so don’t fall back into the trap as you travel. But don’t let your skills go to waste – look for casual or contractor positions that will be fun and easy for you. You’ll be taking a drop in wages but a huge hike in enjoyment. Don’t forget if you’re a casual you’ll be reaping the rewards of weekend and public holiday rates too.
5. Share your Passion to Earn Money on the Road
We met a lady near Coffs Harbour who does meditation classes as she travels. She advertises at caravan parks and charges $10 a head to run a guided meditation. We’ve also met people who do the same for sports and yoga classes. Is there something you could teach? A passion you could turn into an income? People on the road don’t have the same access to services they would at home. So if you can offer something different and useful people will definitely pay for it.
6. Bring Your Tools
If you’ve got a trade bring some tools along with you. If you’re a tradie you can pick up some handyman jobs along the way. If you’re a hairdresser you can offer hair cuts as you travel. Mechanics will never be short of extra work on a road trip!
7. Sell up
Even though we downsized massively before heading off, we soon realised we still had too much stuff. Also with the boys being so young they have outgrown a lot of things while we’ve been travelling. We’ve donated a lot to op-shops, but we’ve also sold some of the bigger items like bikes and baby carriers.
8. Tell People What You Think!
There are a lot of online opinion polls that claim to make you money – but I’ve used one for a while that does just that. Pure Profile lets you share your opinion and earn real cash. Rewards for surveys can be from $1 – $15 – I’ve earned about $50 so far from completing simple questionnaires while we’re driving! It has also led to better paid market research projects too. It’s literally making money on the road – I always fill in the surveys as we are driving!
Budget!
If you’ve been following our hit the road plan you’ll know that we take budgeting seriously. One great way to make money on the road is not to spend as much. Before you buy something repeat the mantra – ‘do I have it, do I really need it, can I live without it?’ It will stop you getting carried away when you find a Kmart after not seeing one for a few months!
Are you travelling? Do you work earn money on the road? We’d love to hear some more tips – comment below.
Next week we’ll be talking about where to stay on your travels – and how some weeks we spend $0 on accommodation!
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